Posted December 12th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Firstly, I should make clear that I was disappointed not to beat Luton, and even more disappointed that the Reds did not play well (hence Homer’s contribution).
I am also a little disappointed that the opportunity to play Liverpool has not come up.
BUT: We would have got tanked. It would have been like Chelsea last year, where the Reds would most likely have been overawed by the occasion. Liverpool are scoring a lot of goals at the moment, and to be honest, a Premier League reserve XI should still beat a decent side from League One.
Naturally enough, I got a text from one of my Liverpool-supporting friends saying the “pipe dream is over” – get over yourself! I did remark when the draw was made that we would be more likely to play poorly against Luton than against Liverpool…
It would have been a distraction. With hindsight, the Chelsea match was, if not a turning point, a catalyst for the problems which dogged the second half of the season. Even if you get beaten by the best team in the world (which neither Liverpool or Chelsea are), the prevailing emotion is still “we got beaten”. So, for the sake of the league campaign, which absolutely has to be the top priority, it may be better to have a dreary midweek defeat to our league rivals (who, incidentally have a very good home record), than a high profile bashing in front of the TV cameras. The former you can forget about, dare I say brush it under the carpet, but with the latter there is nowhere to hide.
Finally, we all know that many neutrals would like to see us beaten by League One rivals. It is called Schadenfreude. However, from a neutral perspective, it may actually be good for football that Luton get the big payday – their players are currently not getting paid, and the estimated £400k that they will receive from the Liverpool match may make the difference between a club going under, and staying afloat. I don’t want to see any club disappear, not even Leeds!
Sure, it will feel a little hollow on 3rd round weekend, but it is not the end of the world…
Posted in General
Posted December 6th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
Walsall 1-0 Forest
Update: My full match report is now available to view on the Nottingham Forest website, along with another excellent report from Bridport Red.
This one was a major disappointment. For all the beautiful passing football in the first half, we missed the chances we created (Messrs Tyson and Commons being most guilty), gave a goal away as soon as the second half started, and then never looked likely to get one back. Unbelievably, I don’t think either keeper had a save to make in the entire 90 minutes!
The team lined up like this:
Smith
Chambers Breckin (c) Wilson Lockwood
Clingan McGugan
Davies Cohen Commons
Tyson
CC was fuming after the game, and encouragingly, his sentiments seem to echo those of many of us long-suffering souls who were at the Bescot last night.
As for me, well I didn’t have anyone to go with, and it cost me £19 I can ill-afford before Christmas, but I went anyway. To be honest, there is a large part of me that wishes I hadn’t bothered…
Posted in General
Posted December 4th, 2007
by Rahoul Baruah
I went to Walsall v Forest a couple of years ago, at what was then the Bescot Stadium. Forest took the lead just before half-time, before Rune Pedersen was sent off for an innocuous challenge, conceding a penalty in the process. It was right in front of us, and our point of view was vindicated when the red card was later rescinded. Cheating Matty Fryatt, who now plays for Cheating Leicester (the perfect home for him), then scored the penalty and then proceeded to ham up his celebrations in front of the away end, which nearly caused a riot. If you ever hear of Forest fans hating Fryatt, then that is your reason.
With ten men, and a tactically inept manager who insisted on continuing with five at the back, it was always going to be uphill. A particularly sloppy goal went in from a set-piece, and despite sub David Friio’s late effort (remember him?), it ended 3-2 to the Saddlers.
Walsall are our bogey team. Dickie Dosh may still want to prove a point to his former employers (remember that he was reserve team coach under Frank Clark?). The Bescot (now Banks’) Stadium is four pikey little sheds put together; it is right by the M6, and I only noticed this recently, as they have put a dayglo orange “Floors-2-Go” hoarding on their biggest stand – otherwise it is so small that you would never notice it from the motorway. Forest also have their ex-Walsall man Julian Bennett injured, and have to contend with the Manager of the Month curse…
Matches against Walsall are always awful, and often result in a Forest loss. This is now my local match, and I can’t wait!
Posted in General
